Category Archives: comedy

“Overboard” Delivers Enormous and Monumental Laughs

comedy, romance, ,

Co-written and directed by Rob Greenberg, Overboard follows Leonardo, played by Eugenio Derbez. He is a selfish, spoiled, rich playboy from Mexico’s most affluent family and Kate, played by Anna Faris, a working-class single mother of three hired to clean Leonardo’s luxury yacht.

Leonardo unjustly fires Kate and refuses to pay her. He falls overboard when partying too hard and wakes up on the Oregon coast with amnesia. Kate shows up at the hospital and, to get payback, convinces Leonardo he is her husband and puts him to work – for the first time in his life.

At first miserable and inept, Leonardo slowly settles in. Eventually, he earns the respect of his new family and co-workers. With Leonardo’s billionaire family hot on their trail and the possibility of his memory returning at any moment, it makes for a fun and entertaining movie.

The Blu-ray and DVD are available with streaming video happening as well. Each disc package contains special featurettes, including an audio commentary with the writer and director Rob Greenberg.

Watch the trailer promoting the Blu-ray and DVD. You might find yourself wanting to see the movie. If you have already seen the movie, you might find yourself wanting to see the film again.

Interestingly, Overboard is a cross-culture movie. With the Anglo-Saxon playing the excellent and thoughtful lower-income character and the Hispanic playing the wealthy and arrogant nature.

Watch the trailer and get a sense of the old Hollywood movies where the audience is in on the gag. This movie clip shows why Kate is putting him through the wringer.

This movie clip makes the joke seem believable. It’s beginning to look like a decent movie.

The second trailer tells us more about the film. It’s kind of cute and funny.

“Ocean’s 8” Trailer

adventure, comedy, drama, sequels, thriller

Directed and co-written by Gary Ross, Ocean’s 8 follows Danny Ocean’s estranged sister, Debbie, played by Sandra Bullock, who attempts to pull off the heist of the century at New York City’s star-studded annual Met Gala. Her first stop is to assemble the perfect crew: Lou, Rose, Daphne Kluger, Nine Ball, Tammy, Amita, and Constance. These roles are played part and parcel by Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter and Dakota Fanning in an undisclosed role.

“Isle of Dog” Trailer, Poster, Behind the Scenes, and Movie Clips

adventure, animation, comedy, science fiction

Directed and written by Wes Anderson, Isle of Dog looks hilarious with tons of fun to watch over and over again. The trailer is fantastic and I am still laughing.

The story is so cool, which takes place in the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island that’s a garbage dump. The outcasts must soon embark on an epic journey when a 12-year-old boy arrives on the island to find his beloved pet.

The Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming are happening now. The movie clip released with the disc release is witty. The drums in the background are awesome.  They play a major role in the movie.

Do you recognize those voices? They are Anderson’s cohorts including Ed Norton and Bill Murray with

Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Courtney B. Vance, Fisher Stevens, Harvey Keitel, Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson, and Tilda Swinton.

There is an interesting movie clip showing the stop-motion animation quality of the movie.

Here are a couple of clips that show a female dog who is a psychic. So, it’s not just male dogs in the movie.  The clips apparently show part of the plot points, which is helpful in understanding the story.  Currently, one of the clips are supposedly blocked, but you might be able to view them anyway.

The clip below shows how animation is done Wes Anderson’s style.

The movie clip is interesting because I am curious about the parody.

The movie clip is totally unexpected, and I find it rather funny if not satirical.

“The Party” Trailer, Poster and Clip

comedy, drama

The Party is a very British movie with a stellar cast. Here is the trailer. I am intrigued that it is in black and white. I haven’t heard much about the movie yet, but here is a clip that shows how this movie seems like a staged play.

“Cook Off!” Trailer

comedy, , , , , , , ,

Directed by both Guy Shalem and Cathryn Michon, Cook Off! follows the reality-show shenanigans mix with the cutthroat world of competitive baking in the delectably sly mockumentary.

I am going along with the shows play on words to describe this crazy and nonsensical story as a buffet of quirky contestants prepare for the renowned Van Rookle Farms Cooking Contest. The heat is on to win a one-million-dollar prize.

As the movie follows the contestants and the wily media and celebrity judges descend on a hotel convention area to see which contestants rise, which ones fall, who will reveal their true nature, and who will find love with the contest’s costumed Muffin Man mascot.

I get the impression that we are seeing nothing but improv with the talented cast that includes Cathryn Michon, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Gary Anthony Williams, Niecy Nash, Diedrich Bader, Stephen Root, and Sam Pancake. Will the movie be zesty or tasteless?

Perhaps, some viewers will relate the that crazy and give an affectionate nod to ordinary Americans who believe they’re one dollop of spray cheese away from achieving their dreams.

However, this is no British bake off.

“The Man Who Invented Christmas” Trailer, Poster, Movie Clips & Featurette

based on a book, comedy, drama, ,

Directed by Bharat Nalluri, The Man Who Invented Christmas follows the magical journey of Charles Dickens, played by Dan Stevens, which led to the development of one of the most classic characters in literature – Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Christopher Plummer. The classic story includes other well-known characters such as Tiny Tim.

Watching this trailer and being a writer, I find myself caught up in the irony of Dickens creating one of the most celebrated stories ever.

The movie is based on the book by Les Standiford, who is also a historian and has written several books on poignant times in history.  Nalluri also directed Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day, which did quite well at the box office.

The Man Who Invented Christmas entertains the story of how Charles Dickens mixed real-life inspirations with his vivid imagination to conjure up unforgettable characters and a timeless tale, forever changing the holiday season into the celebration we know today.

I am delighted to see Outlander alumni, Scottish actor Bill Paterson, who plays Ned Gowan, Simon Callow, who played Duke of Sandringham, and Annette Badland, who played Mrs. Fritz.

I watched the movie with my daughter, and we completely enjoyed the movie. It’s a wonderful movie to watch during the holiday season because Dickens’ message come through loud and clear. Christmas is a time to be with friends and family while helping those who are less fortunate.  The movie is available on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming. My daughter and I watched it on Prime.

The trailers and clips did not do the movie justice. It is truly entertaining while learning about the life of Dickens.

I saw a great little clip where Dickens struggles to concentrate in a household of children. It such a fun movie to watch during the holidays.

This looks like a fun movie to see during the holiday season.

It is wonderful to see the process of such a great writer.

Great Featurette, the movie gets under Dickens’ skin.

“Just Getting Started” Trailer

comedy, , , , , , , ,

Written and directed by Ron Shelton, who brought us Tin Cup and Bull Durham, Just Getting Started follows Duke Diver, played by Morgan Freeman. Duke is a freewheeling manager of the luxury Palm Springs resort, the Villa Capri.

The story is about a Diver who might have a mysterious past. Yet, he is on top of his game because he’s a pro at ensuring that life for the high-spirited residents is one big, non-stop party. But the existing state of affairs is challenged when ex-military charmer Leo, played by Tommy Lee Jones, checks in, triggering a competition between Duke and Leo for the top spot of Alpha male, as well as for the affections of the newly-arrived Suzie, played by Rene Russo.

Duke’s past unexpectedly catches up with him, and Leo and Duke put aside their differences. The two men reluctantly team up to stop whoever is trying to kill Duke and save Villa Capri.

Additional cast includes Jane Seymour, George Wallace, Joe Pantoliano, Glenne Headly, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Graham Beckel and Elizabeth Ashley.

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Trailer, Clips, and Featurettes

comedy, drama, , , , , , , ,

Directed by Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a dark comedy that follow Mildred Hays, played by Frances McDormand, who after months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, makes a bold move, commissioning three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, played by Woody Harrelson. Apparently, Willoughby is the town’s revered chief of police but it such doesn’t look like it in the trailer.

When Willoughby’s second-in-command Officer Dixon, played by Sam Rockwell, an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.

This is a great interview about an actor’s process of being the character.

The trailer is hilarious and fun to watch, but I still feel Hays’ pain of losing her daughter without the police doing anything about her murder.

The story begins with Mildred Hayes and the three billboards she rents on Drinkwater Road. “I decided the buyer of the billboards was an aggrieved mother and from there, things almost wrote themselves,” McDonagh recalls. “Mildred was someone strong, determined and raging, yet also broken inside. That was the germination of the story.”

Frances McDormand is exceptional to watch in the trailer and clip as a modern, female variant of the classic western hero in a showdown-style performance. “I really latched onto John Wayne in a big way as my physical idea, because I really had no female physical icons to go off of for Mildred,” she explains. “She is more in the tradition of the Spaghetti Western’s mystery man, who comes walking down the center of the street, guns drawn, and blows everybody away — although I think it’s important that the only weapons Mildred ever uses are her wits and a Molotov cocktail.”

“I could see it in her walk and her attitude,” says McDonagh. “I think John Wayne did become a touchstone to a degree for Frances. But I also see Brando and Montgomery Clift in there, too.”

Here is a featurette describing McDonagh’s work.

I saw the movie last night. It is well-written, but the ending is not uplifting. I wanted the characters to find and closer.

My daughter found an article about how the movie is based on a real-life incident of a grieving father “advertising” on three billboards about how the Vidor, Texas police botched their investigation into her murder.

“Wonder Wheel” Trailer

comedy, drama, legend, , ,

I am so excited about Woody Allen’s movie Wonder Wheel because the story follows Kate Winslet’s character, who is surrounded by talented actors like Jim Belushi. Watch him in this trailer, and Justin Timberlake.

I look forward to hearing more about this movie, which is usually hush-hush regarding Allen’s latest movie.

I saw the movie on Amazon Prime, and the comedy aspect of the movie is nonexistent. The only remotely funny part is Timberlake’s character because he is so self-centered.

This is the second time Woody Allen has shown psychiatry for what it is—fake.  The son goes to a psychiatrist for counseling, but it gets worse. The husband, Belushi’s character, practically calls them a quack.

The poster shows the Ferris wheel in the background with Winslet in the forefront.  This is so cliche, but it communicates the message of the movie. Enjoy the trailer.